This was supposed to be my Voco staycation but when I found out that their Executive Lounge hours are still samey samey as its previous Hilton life ie lounge is only open in the evening and limited to 1-hour stay per room, I decided to change plans – a $63++ top up will get me afternoon tea and no time limit to stay for evening cocktails. Why not!

Address – 1 Nanson Road Singapore 238909. Website.

Contact – Tel: +65 68265000. Email: info.sinic@ihg.com.

Location – Located in the Robertson Quay enclave surrounded by fancy eats and wrapped in a chill vibe, this property enjoys a prime location amongst its atas residential neighbours where you can take in views or if you dont mind a scenic (but perhaps not so peaceful) stroll by the waters.

Price – $288++ = $340nett for a King Bed Classic (used to be called Club Deluxe Studio I believe) which includes the following benefits:

• Access to the Club InterContinental lounge
• Complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea, canapés and evening cocktail at Club InterContinental lounge
• Complimentary 1 year access to LUXE City Guides App – Singapore Edition
• Complimentary 1 hour use of The Study meeting room per stay
• Complimentary use of Tokyo Bike for you to explore Robertson Quay
• Complimentary Wifi Internet access in-room and throughout the hotel
• Complimentary use of the 24-hour Fitness Studio as well as the lap pool

Pre-arrival – I received a pre-arrival email 3 days prior but it didn’t offer much information other than rehashing your stay details and what is already reflected on the hotel’s website. There is of course an encouragement for a room upgrade for “as little as $45” to a Suite if you wish.

Check In – I got to an empty lobby on level 4 at 1:30pm on a weekday and formalities was processed in 15mins; I was also granted a late checkout of 2pm upon asking. My room however was not ready and I was invited to the Club to enjoy afternoon tea. But meanwhile, I took time to take in how lovely the atas residential deco turned out to be, enhanced by the liberal presence of glossy marbles in dark classy furnishing.

In particular, the Quayside Lounge looks super atas and the sofa seats tremendously inviting.

I was also handed my welcome letter (sorry for the crappy pic) – I didn’t make use of the pressing nor had use for booking of The Study but I can see how it can be of great value-add especially for the WFHotel peeps.

Room – After 1.5 hour wait, I got my King Bed Classic Top Floor (28SqM), 904, at exactly 3pm. The room is laid out in pretty much an open-concept block which made the space feel much bigger than it is.

Dressed in similar color tones as the public areas, the door opens up to a squarish layout of sorts, with the wardrobe (super nice bathrobes!) and enclosed toilet to your left (they share a sliding panel as their door but be warned that this door requires herculean strength so prep your biceps).

To your right is the rest of bathroom, with single sink but plenty of countertop space, and a standing shower space (great water pressure and temperature!). Housekeeping is rather generous with the amount of towels here so 2pax with a normal appetite for towels will surely not need to ask for more. They are however minimalistic with the bathroom amenities and other than toothbrushes, you’ll have to scan a QR code to request for the other stuff you might need.

Toiletries are Grown Alchemist branded which was nice!

The main block is the bedroom which contains one of the more comfy king beds I’ve ever tried, and 2 bedside tables with plugs and lighting / blind controls. At one corner beside the bed is a swivel sofa + ottoman which is super suitable for a spot of TV watching or just spacing / looking out.

The property had done away with the traditional work chair in the room and in place of it is a mounted pod seat that accompanies a small round table which has a sweet pack of welcome cookies.

The mini bar here is in a nondescript corner and has a Nespresso, kettle, tea bags, cups and glassware. There’s also a fridge but its emptied to reduce common touchpoints.

I do have to point out that the full length glass windows offering a view of the neighbouring residences are 2-way so please note that they can look in too so please remember to draw the blinds / curtains for privacy. There’s a little sticker on the panel stating this fact so god knows what the poor residences got a glimpse of before this warning was implemented.

Club Intercontinental Lounge – Located on level 4 of the property, this impressive space is (at least to me) the highlight of the property. The impressive entrance notwithstanding, the interior was super classy and reminiscent of an atas living room with cosy seating choices for 2-4pax. The abundance of natural lighting lights up the space in a nice way ie radiant but no direct sunrays.

The centre piece of this space is the kitchen (ie food) area which is a cut out nook with floor to ceiling fridge shelving – very nice and classy. During meal sessions, this area is where you’ll be ale to preview your food and drinks, pick what you want, and staff will bring them to your table.

The space also has an outdoor area you can chill in if you are not a fan of strong air-conditioning.

During my stay, the club is opened from 11:30am – 9:30pm and guests who have access will enjoy the following meal sessions:

All day (11:30am – 9:30pm) – light snacks and coffee / tea + other non alcoholic drinks are available for all day noshing in the pretty space. I saw nuts, chips, and dried fruits for options, alongside still / sparkling water amongst others.

Afternoon Tea (2-4pm): this was served in a 3-tier tray and the staff will explain the items as they serve it. I’m not a fan of carbs and too sweet stuff so this to me was just passable – even the scones were hard and dry. But I did get an unexpected red wine cocktail as they happened to be testing recipes and invited me to give my feedback on it. Yays!

Evening Cocktails (6-8pm): this was served in a set of 4 hot canapés, alongside choices of fruits, desserts, and salad cups. The selection and taste of the hot canepes were fantastic and I appreciated the thought behind curating a quality selection of bites versus other lounges who may be too enthusiastic about feeding you with senseless carbs and deep fried frozen something.

Cocktails were not available but they had a Prosecco, 2x whites, 2x reds, and 2x beers (Menabreau and Peroni!) which were plenty enough for 2 hours of guzzling. They take last orders as well so feel free to get more to nurse til you get kicked out at 9:30pm.

Service at the Club was excellent! Every staff I encountered was genuinely warm, super efficient, and would actively check in with you if you need anything else. I think being there on a weekday helped, but its been a while since I had great service from a Club Lounge. Thank you Pauline, Stela, and Keyan for enhancing my experience!

Breakfast – during my stay, Club guests only have the option of having breakfast at Publico (6:30am – 10:30am with no bookings required). The space is really pretty and semi full when we walked in at 8am+ on a weekday morning.

You get unlimited servings of the food printed on a paper menu which acts as your placemat. I liked it very much that they temper the serving size to be mostly canapé style so we did manage to try more than a few things but unfortunately the flavors fell flat – some items came cold and others were bland. Service was great though.

Facilities – I check out the 24-hour Fitness Centre which looks adequately equipped.

I also grabbed one of their Tokyo Bike for a spin (they have bicycle locks upon request if you need) and found it quite fun! This is available via the concierge on level 1 on a first come first served basis.

The Pool however was closed for facade cleaning throughout my stay so no pics here – it would have been nice to be informed in my pre-arrival email I thought though.

Check Out – Did an express check out on a weekday.

In Summary,

I actually really really liked this property! Didn’t expect this to be as great a stay but now I’m so happy I switched out Voco for this 2days. Nice clean room + warm genuine service is such a rare combination these days so well done Intercon Robertson Quay! If I ever need motivation to sign up as an Ambassador to use the weekend Suite Night benefit, this will be it for sure.